Urban Heat Islands in Washington DC

How citizen science, data, and science communication come together in NOAA to tell the story of our cities.

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Urban Heat Islands Web Scene for Washigton DC developed by Juan Pablo Hurtado

Overview of the city and extreme heat

Extreme heat has been the   greatest weather-related cause of death   in the U.S. for the past 30 years. However, it does not affect everyone the same. People who live in neighborhoods with a lot of heat absorbing surfaces such as parking lots, highways, and little shade will be exposed to higher temperatures than other neighborhoods with fewer heat absorbing structures and large tree coverage. This is referred to as the urban heat island or UHI effect. As a result, highly developed city areas can experience mid-afternoon temperatures that are 8 to 10°C or 15° to 20°F warmer than other areas within the same city, with little cooling occurring overnight. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, working with partner CAPA Strategies, developed and supports a process for cities to conduct a volunteer-based, community science field campaign that engages residents in a scientific study to map and understand how heat is distributed in their communities. These on-the-ground collected data are combined with satellite imagery, and, using a machine learning process, high-resolution maps are generated that have been used in city sustainability plans, public health practices, and urban forestry efforts.  Here, NOAA demonstrates how these maps can be used in a  VR experience in combination with other public data, such as  Washington DC 3D buildings, and satellite images, to visualize the UHI effect in a virtual world environment. We will visit 4 different neighborhoods around Washington DC, and an example of community-government partnership, to better understand neighborhood differences and potential solutions.

Street and Satellite view of Colonial Village

Colonial Village

The coolest neighborhood

The Colonial Village neighborhood is literally the coolest place in Washington, D.C. This neighborhood is located at the very northern tip of the diamond-shaped district, just next to Rock Creek Park, the largest park in the area. Colonial Village was found to be 4.4°C cooler than the average temperature for the city, due to a high tree canopy coverage (67%), which provides significant cooling on hot days. Typically during the summer, winds blow from the South here, and since this neighborhood is at the northern end of Rock Creek Park, the park acts as a cooling station for Colonial Village. The shape and space between structures likely also helped keep this area cool, as the neighborhood is predominantly detached 1-2 story single-family homes, allowing for good air circulation. The average house price in this neighborhood is $1.64 million and the median household income is $175 thousand.

Though already quite cool relative to the rest of Washington, D.C., this neighborhood could increase the reflectivity of its uncovered surfaces by applying light colors to them, which would further reduce the amount of heat energy absorbed. 

Colonial Village is:

  • 4.4° C cooler than the average temperature for Washington, D.C.
  • High tree canopy coverage of around 67%
  • Detached 1-2 story single-family houses
  • Average house price: $1.64 million
  • Median household income: $175 thousand
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Park View

The hottest neighborhood

The Parkview neighborhood has been shown to be the hottest in Washington, D.C. Park View is in the Northwest Quadrant of the district, located just north of Howard University, a historically black university (HBCU). This area is covered with structures that greatly reduce air flow such as 3 story row homes stacked together tightly and low tree canopy coverage. 

While there is a neighborhood park in this area, it contains very few trees and many heat-absorbing basketball and tennis courts, a parking lot and playground structures with dark surfaces beneath them. The average house price in Park View is $765 thousand, and the median household income is around $125 thousand.

Based on this information, a lot can be done to bring down the outdoor temperatures in this area. Tree canopy could be increased by planting more trees in public areas. Washington, D.C. allows residents to request a street tree be planted in front of their homes via a form. Residents can cool their homes by adding a green roof which is a roof covered in vegetation, or painting it with a lighter color, such as white.

Park View is:

  • 4.7°C hotter than the average temperature for Washington, D.C.
  • Low tree canopy coverage
  • Lots of heat absorbing surfaces such as parking lots, basketball and tennis courts, and dark structures
  • Average house price: $765 thousand
  • Median house income: $125 thousand

Spring Valley and Kent

The Spring Valley and Kent neighborhoods are located on the western tip of Washington, D.C., close to the Potomac river and Montgomery county in the State of Maryland. Spring Valley and Kent’s residents include several politicians and corporate officers. These neighborhoods are closer to the city’s average temperature, and they both have large tree canopy coverage. As you can see in these satellite images, these neighborhoods have very few exposed dark surfaces like parking lots. Structures in this neighborhood are mainly detached 1-2 story single-family homes, allowing for good air circulation. The average house price in these neighborhoods is between  $2.15 million (two point one five million dollars) and $2.3 million (two point three million dollars), the median household income is above $250 thousand.

Even though these neighborhoods are not hotter than the rest of the district, temperatures could be lowered by increasing the tree coverage, implementing green or white roofs, or using lighter colors for uncovered surfaces and structures.

Spring Valley and Kent are:

  • Close to the city’s average temperature
  • Large tree canopy coverage
  • Detached 1-2 story single-family houses
  • Very few uncovered heat-absorbing surfaces such as parking lots, basketball and tennis courts, and dark structures
  • Average house price $2.15 - $2.3 million
  • Median house income $250 thousand+

Washington Highlands

Washington Highlands is located in the southern tip of Washington, D.C, very close to the border of Prince George’s County, Maryland. Washington Highlands is composed of mostly low-income and public housing apartment complexes. 

The temperatures around Washington Highlands are higher than the rest of the district by around 1°C. This neighborhood has very low tree coverage and lots of heat-absorbing surfaces such as roads, highways, and parking lots, which intensify the Urban Heat Island effect. The average home price in this neighborhood is $156 thousand (one hundred fifty six thousand dollars) and the median household income is around $25 thousand.

The neighborhood would greatly benefit from a large increase in tree coverage. However trees would take several years to provide shade, thus other initiatives such as white or green roofs would greatly help to decrease the temperature of homes. Cooling and resilience centers would also provide communal spaces to mitigate the high temperatures.

Washington Highlands is:

  • Around 1°C hotter than the average temperature in the city
  • Very low tree canopy coverage
  • Lots of heat-absorbing surfaces such as parking lots, roads, highways, and dark structures
  • Average house price $156 thousand
  • Median house income $25 thousand

Faunteroy Community Center

Faunteroy Community Center is a community organization dedicated to empowering and creating positive change in the community it serves. The community center is located in the Deanwood neighborhood, found in the eastern tip of Washington, D.C. This center has been working with other projects to increase the resiliency and preparedness of the community in facing climate change effects, such as heatwaves and the UHI effect. NOAA recently awarded this institution a grant to support the implementation of a new Resilience Hub for the community.

This is an example of communities and governmental agencies working together to decrease the effects of hazardous conditions, such as UHI.

Faunteroy Community Center is:

  • 0.7°C hotter than the average temperature for DC
  • Grassroots Community Organization
  • Increasing resiliency and empowering its community
  • Working  with NOAA to implement a Resilience Hub
  • Example of a community-government partnership

Street and Satellite view of Colonial Village